Device for holding fire-alarm keys.



ANTHONYISKE & ALBERT ISKE.

DEVICE FOR HOLDING FIRE ALARM KEYS.

v APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23,1908. 93 1 1 23 Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

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ANTHONY ISKE AND ALBERT ISKE, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR HOLDING- FiRE-ALARM KEYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 23, 1908.

Patented Aug. 1'7, 1909.

Serial No. 39,947.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known'that we, rinirnony and simmer isms, citizens of the United States, residing at Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new nd useful Improvements in Devices for I-iolding .iiire-rilarin Keys; and ve do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to prevent fire-alarm keys from being taken surreptitiously from their places and used for giving false alarms. To this end we provide a wheel having a key holding compartment that registers with a suitable opening in a casing, so that the key cannot be withdrawn until the said wheel is turned so as to bring said compartmentbehind said opening; and we also provide said wheel with means for continuously sounding an alarm during such rotary movement.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the mechanism embodying our invention, and, Fig. 2 represents a vertical central section of the lower part of the same at right angles to Fig. 1.

A designates the bed-plate of our casing, fastened to a wall or any support by screws a and having forwardly extending lugs A of any convenient number and proper circumferential intervals, which are perforated to receive screws a, whereby the cylindrical side wall of the casing-body B of cheese-box form is fastened detachably to said bedplate, said wall being tapped to receive said screws. The'front wall of said body has an opening'B therein, preferably in its lower part, and is also centrally perforated to receive the detachable bearing sleeve C of a shaft D, which shaft has a wheel E mounted on and turning with itinside of said casing. This wheel is provided with studs 6 at suitable intervals on its rear face, the said studs being arranged to act against one end of a lever F pivoted on the plate A and connected by rods or wires f to the hammer G of a small gong or alarm bell H mounted at any convenient distance from said wheel on a plate W or any other convenient means of attachment to a wall or other support. A spring or springs 72, operate this hammer to strike the gong. Each stud c in revolving with the wheel E bears on the lever F, which is pivoted at one end and near the other fastened to the wire j, this pulls on the wire f and wire f being attached to the lever end of the hammer pulls hard enough thereon to cause the spring it to stretch. When the stud c disengages from the lever F, by sliding off the end thereof, the opposition to the spring h is relieved and said spring 71- contracts with force enough to cause hammer G to strike against the gong H thereby causing the same to ring. It should be distinctly understood that the studs 0 do not engage with the wire f for if they were so to do, the wire extending out of the casing thereby rendering disengagement impossible, they would be unable to disengage therefrom, thereby rendering the device inoperative. A guide tube 1 extends upward from the casing body B to direct the first wire which is attached to lever F.

The shaft D is provided with a hand wheel J at its front end for convenience in turning wheel E. This wheel is provided with an open-faced compartment or pocket K adapted to receive an alarm key L and registering with opening B.

The operation is as follows. hen the key is needed to send an alarm, the wheel E is turned from the front until the said compartment comes opposite said opening and during this rotation the pins 0, lever F and connections operate the hell or other alarm, thus notifying everyone who is near that a firealarm will soon be sounded. in case of unauthorized tampering such repeated announcements will attract attention and lead to the detection of the offender in the act.

A helical spring D surrounding shaft 1) hears forward against a shoulder of the latter and holds wheel E against the inner face of the front casing B so that the friction between these two parts will prevent said wheel from turning too easily, so that each pin 6 will be certain to act on lever F and ring the alarm gong or hell H in its regular turn. The wheel E can be turned in one direction only, for the studs 0 would prevent reverse rotation by engaging lever F.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is;

1. A key box for tire-alarm keys comprising a casing open at one point only, a wheel, turning within said casing, having a key holding pocket arranged to register with intervals by said wheel during its rotation for announcing an attempt to remove said key, and also adapted to prevent the back- 15 ward rotation of said wheel.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANTHONY ISKE. ALBERT ISKE. Vitnesses C. K. FRAILEY,

hi0. B. BRESSLER. 

